Bandaged Hearts
by Dragon Star Empress
Summary: Determined to find out why the government took her patient Charlotta starts looking for answers and finds more than she ever could have imagined.
1. Chapter 1

I've only seen the series once, I'm currently working my way through it again, so if I make any mistakes let me know.

This follows the second to last episode, We've Got One. I knew when I started watching the series that anything with good mummies would probably cause plot bunnies, but hadn't come up with anything specific until I got to that episode, then it just fell right into place.

No mummies in this chapter, but they'll be here early in the next chapter.

* * *

Charlotta knocked, but didn't wait to be told to come in before she walked into the hospital administrator's office.

For a second the administrator, Bill looked as if her were going to scold her, but one look at her face changed that, "Charlotta, what's wrong?"

"Someone just kidnapped one of our patients, these guys in suits came in, claimed they were with the government and took this guy I had been working with. There was also this crazy cop who was saying the guy was an alien even though-"

She was cut off as a man in a suit barged into the room, "Has everyone forgotten how to knock and wait for permission to enter?" Bill demanded.

"I am agent Smith, there has been an incident and- actually I was looking for this young lady here," the man said motioning to Charlotta, "Have you told anyone else what you've seen tonight?" he asked her.

"Why, are you going to kill me so I don't tell anyone?" Charlotta demanded.

"No, we prefer to avoid killing when possible," the man said pulling a check out of his pocket and handing it to her.

Charlotta stared at the check for a moment then laughed, "You honestly thought that guy was an alien?" then it hit her and it felt like her head was spinning before she asked, "Wait a minute, you- you're all prepared to cover this up, does that mean aliens really are real and the government is really covering it up?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss the subject," Smith replied.

"Where did you take that poor man?" Charlotta demanded.

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"You and your people are idiots, I'd think if you were looking for aliens you'd be trained to recognize things that can make people look not quite human."

"What are you talking about?" Smith asked.

"His blue gray skin wasn't because he was an alien. Methemoglobinemia can be genetic or caused by certain drugs, while it's extremely rare it turns a person's skin blue," Charlotta told him.

"If it's so rare how do you know about it?" Smith demanded suspiciously.

"It was on one of my college tests and it was the only question I got wrong, nothing better for engraining something in your memory than getting it wrong, I got it right on the midterm though," Charlotta replied.

"She's right," Bill said holding out a medical book he had grabbed from a nearby shelf.

Agent Smith looked at the book for a moment, his face paling before he said, "I have to go."

"Not so quick there, now I know just as much as Charlotta does and as an older more respected person in a position of power people would be far more likely to believe me if I talk about all of this," Bill pointed out.

"Of course," Bill said pulling out another check and two sheets of paper and laying them on the desk, "I'll just need you both to sign these nondisclosure contracts saying that if you ever tell anyone about this incident you will have to pay back all of the money you're given, and you'll be put in prison for betraying an agreement with the United States Government."

When Bill and Charlotta hesitated Smith added, "If you don't agree, there is a possibility you won't survive the night."

"Well, I suppose this isn't such a bad secret to keep," Bill said signing.

"Yeah, and man will that money help," Charlotta said as she signed too, "Now go rescue that poor man before he decides twenty of these checks aren't enough."

After Smith left Bill said, "Well I've official got something new to take the first place on my strangest things I've seen in the hospital list. And you can afford to forget about just being a nurse and go for full fledge doctor with that."

"No way, I could put the boys and I all through college with this. Once they're old enough to go to college themselves I could forget about the medical field all together. Most of my life I wanted to be an Egyptologist, I still do, becoming a nurse was just the most practical choice with dad's connections at the hospital, my experience and needing to stay in the area. This could be the best thing that's ever happened to me," Charlotta told him, "Although I don't know what is creepier, the fact that we just pretty much got confirmation that aliens are real or the fact that the government is really covering it up."

"Yes, it's all rather strange," Bill said then when the phone rang, "You'd better get back to work before anyone notices and asks where you've been."

Charlotta was headed down the hall when Hope, one of the emergency room nurses and Josiah, who ran the morgue came around a corner heading towards her.

"Is everything alright?" Charlotta asked when she noticed how pale and shaken Josiah looked.

"He sat up, the dead guy sat up and disappeared," Josiah said shakily.

"Is there a full moon tonight?" Charlotta asked.

"No, why?" Hope asked.

"That's just not the craziest thing I've heard tonight. Are you sure he was dead?" Charlotta asked.

"Positive, I checked him out myself. He wasn't just dead, he looked like he'd been dead for a while, looked almost mummified he was almost completely wrapped in bandages," Hope told her.

"When was it you guys saw him?" Charlotta asked wandering maybe the government people hadn't been wrong.

"About an hour ago," Hope replied.

"Maybe forty five minutes ago," Josiah told her then added, "I think there were three more of them, two guys and a girl, the one guy was big and only had one arm."

"What was the first one wearing?" Charlotta asked.

"Other than bandages, not much, just a white and green skirt like thing," Hope told her.

"And this weird tall hat," Josiah added.

"The hat was it green and gold?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, you saw him too?" Josiah asked.

"I found him wandering around the basement a little over half an hour ago, I thought he was a patient who had wandered off and gotten lost," Charlotta replied.

"Where is he now?" Hope asked.

"Some guys in suits came and took him away after this crazy cop-"

"Said he was an alien?" Hope cut in.

"Exactly, but I'm sure he was human," Charlotta said.

"So am I, I know it's crazy, but do you think he's a zombie?" Hope asked.

"Not in the traditional mindless, man eating Hollywood sense. He was talking to me and seemed harmless," Charlotta replied.

"What else could it be?" Josiah asked.

"This is going to sound crazy," Charlotta started then laughed, "Well I guess no crazier than zombies. The whole being dead thing combined with the bandages and the clothes he was wearing, if I saw someone in those clothes on Halloween my first thought would be Egyptian."

"You think he's a mummy, an ancient Egyptian mummy?" Hope asked skeptically.

"She might be on to something," Josiah said, "a while back there was this show on TV talking about the rumors that there are living mummies in San Francisco and offering a reward for anyone who could find proof. If someone believed mummies were wandering around enough to sink who knows how many millions of dollars into a TV show. If we could track that thing down I wonder if they're still offering the reward."

"Forget the reward, can you imagine getting to learn about Ancient Egypt from someone who actually lived then? You could have more than just a mummy coming back to life, you could bring back the language," Charlotta said.

"I thought people knew the language, the Rosetta stone and all," Josiah said.

"No, they know how to read hieroglyphics and have made guesses about what the language sounded like, but no one knows for sure," Charlotta told him.

"You're forgetting one thing, there's no way you're ever going to see that thing again. If people after reward money couldn't find them, what makes you think you can?" Hope asked.

"Nothing, but I can dream can't I?"

"Sure, why not. For now though we should all get back to work," Hope told her.

Charlotta headed back downstairs then stopped to inspect what appeared to be a shattered tape recorder, most likely dropped from at least a few floors up. She managed to get out the tape which appeared to be undamaged, just as she heard voices from above her.

"We have to find that tape, if anyone finds it they'll have proof that aliens exist," one man said.

"No one would know it was real. Anyways the nursing student you had me pay off to keep her quite said he wasn't an alien, just a human with some weird condition," agent Smith said.

"Well she clearly didn't know what she was talking about. What I found when we examined it, it definitely wasn't human, it wasn't even alive by human standards and my report on it is on that tape."

Charlotta couldn't help grinning when she realized she had just found what could be a huge piece to the puzzle. She silently picked back up the pieces of the recorder she had touched then slipped out of the stairwell, dumping the pieces into a trash can as she walked by.

Normally on the one night a week that Charlotta was able to work late at the hospital she came home, checked on her brother and went straight to bed if he was home. Tonight she couldn't have been more wide awake as she practically ran into the house and grabbed the tape player.

She was about to go check on her brother when she heard the front door unlock. Deciding to let him think he had gotten away with sneaking out again, she hit play on the tape.

"The subject has no detectable pulse, in fact he appears to have no bodily fluids what so ever" a man said.

"Well of course not" another man replied, one she was sure was the one she had bandaged.

"What are you listening too?" her brother Troy suddenly asked from right behind her.

"I would have told you if you had been here when I got home," Charlotta replied.

"It's not even midnight yet," Troy replied.

"You're to be home by ten thirty,"

"Whatever. So what is this you're listening to?" Troy asked.

Sighing Charlotta gave up on trying to get through to him that night and told him everything that had happened that night. Except for the large check, before they found out about that she intended to have the money in savings accounts that her brothers only got access to if they went to college. She didn't want to think of the trouble Troy could get into if he thought he could beg money off of her, or worse what the kids he hung out with would convince him to do if they knew they were no longer barely getting by.

"So you think there's a living mummy running around San Francisco and this tape is of some government guy examining the thing?" Troy asked.

"Yes, so?" Charlotta asked crossing her arms and looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to start laughing at her and tell her she was crazy.

Instead he backed the tape up and listened to the first few second again, then grimacing said, "I know you're kind of obsessed with Egypt, but do not turn to me into a mummy."

"Why not, this guy seems to have gotten a second chance at life, wouldn't that be interesting, to be able to see how the world has changed?" Charlotta asked.

"No thanks, not as a dried out mummy, that would be miserable," Troy told her.

"It didn't look so bad to me, I mean his skin was off because of no blood, but otherwise he looked and acted like a normal person, he hardly seemed miserable. What would be so bad about it?"

"No blood, no blood flow, no erections, no sex," Troy said.

"Seriously!?" she exclaimed in disbelief, "We're talking about a more or less living mummy running around and all you think of is if he has a sex life?"

"I'm seventeen, what else would I be thinking about when I hear something like that?" Troy asked.

"I didn't know, maybe be more focused on the fact that it supports my theory," Charlotta replied before hitting play on the tape.

A moment later a grin spread across her face as she heard the man say, "Furthermore the creature has no internal organs."

And the other man reply, "I do so. I keep them in a jar right next to my bed."

Troy looked at her like she had lost her mind as he stopped the tape, "Now it's my turn to be disturbed, the guy just said his organs are removed and kept in jars. That's sick and you're grinning about it?"

"Seriously, you've lived with me all your life and you don't know anything about mummification?"

"I remember that they shoved a stick up a person's nose to scramble their brain and drain it out their nose and then they dry out the body somehow," Troy replied.

"The organs would be removed and placed in jars, except for the heart which they believed was where thought and the soul were, it would be placed back into the body," Charlotta explained.

"But that guy just said there were no organs in the body, he didn't say there was still a heart in there," Troy pointed out.

"Maybe it was damaged, he did have several wounds that had been stitched up, one was a cut right over where his heart should been. If he were killed in a fight he could have been stabbed in the heart and it was damaged so badly they didn't leave it in him," Charlotta told him, "I wish I could get a hold of whatever scans they did of him, if that was the case he should have a stone heart scarab in his chest to replace his heart."

"Man, you really were obsessed with this ancient Egyptian stuff, weren't you?" Troy said.

"Was? No I still am, always have been, always will be and someday I'll be an Egyptologist. If we can find this mummy maybe I'll have a tour guide who knows where to find monuments and towns that are known about, but have never been found," Charlotta told him.

"You're assuming this thing isn't going to kill you for finding out about it, or try to eat you or something," Troy said.

"He didn't seem dangerous, a little grumpy maybe, kind of reminded me of Grandpa Elmer," Courtney told him, "Anyways it would be worth the risk for the chance to get a firsthand account of what life was really like in Ancient Egypt."

"And if you get yourself killed what happens to Ben and I?" Troy asked.

"I was a couple months younger than you when I got custody of you two. Maybe being forced to be responsible for someone else would keep you from sneaking out with those guys all the time," Charlotta replied.

"Or no one would think I'm responsible enough to take care of Ben and he'll end up in an orphanage," Troy said.

"Then maybe you'd better start cleaning up your act before I find the mummy, just in case," Charlotta countered.

"I'm going to bed, good luck with your wild goose chase," Troy said before leaving the room.

Sighing Charlotta finished listening to the tape before heading to bed herself.

The next morning just after ten Charlotta was sitting at the kitchen table trying to sketch out the clothes the mummy had worn. She heard the front door close a moment before her twelve year old brother threw his arms around her shoulders from behind and hugged her tightly.

"Did you get to see anyone die yet?" Ben asked.

"No," Charlotta replied, wondering if she should be worried about his strange obsession with dying that gradually been increasing since their father had died.

"Did you see any dead bodies?"

"Depends on your definition of dead," she replied.

Ben was instantly sitting at the table next to her and staring at her expectantly, "What does that mean? Isn't there only one way of being dead?" he asked.

"Apparently if you're an ancient Egyptian mummy you can be dead, but still be walking around like you're alive," Troy said as he came into the kitchen.

"A mummy? A mummy that is alive?" Ben asked then noticing the drawing on the table in front of Charlotta, he grabbed it and pointed to the drawing of the hat, "Was he wearing that hat? Was it gold and green?"

"You've seen him?" Charlotta and Troy both asked.

"At the school Halloween dance, he was there and there were a few other mummies, he and two others looked really real," Ben replied.

"What did the other two look like?" Charlotta asked.

"One was a girl with white hair and the other was big with only one arm," Ben replied, "I saw a kid in my class, Presley, keep talking to them on and off all night. He seemed kind of upset that they were there."

Charlotta grinned, "Ben, honey, have you ever wanted to be a spy and go under cover?"

"You've got to be kidding me, you're going to drag him into this insanity too?" Troy asked.

"Well it would be a lot easier for Ben to gain Presley's trust than an adult," Charlotta pointed out.

"You want me to become his friend and find out about the mummies, don't you?" Ben asked grinning conspiratorially at her.

"Yep, think you're up to it?" Charlotta asked.

"Is this a paying job?" Ben asked.

"Twenty dollars now and a hundred if I actually get to meet the mummies," Charlotta replied.

Both boys stared at her, their mouths hanging open for a moment before Troy said, "And where are you going to come up with that kind of money? Half the time we barely have enough to keep food on the table and the utilities on."

"I'll tell you tomorrow after I run to the bank," Charlotta replied.

"You're going to rob a bank to fund this insanity?" Troy asked.

"Of course not, I'm going to blackmail the government," she replied before getting up to go wash the breakfast dishes. She ignored Troy's incessant questions about where she was going to get money from for a while, but finally gave in and told him, "I'm sorry, all I can tell you is that the government has things they don't want people to know, I found out one of those things and was paid to not tell anyone. If I do tell you and they find out they'll take the money back and throw me in jail, they actually made me sign a contract saying that."

Troy stared at her for a long moment then asked, "This has something to do with the mummies doesn't it? You're not crazy, they're actually real?"

"Sort of, yes it's because of the mummies that this happened, but the government wasn't so sure as to what they were, but still wanted to cover it up. Now go do the laundry and start helping out around here and you might just start getting an allowance again."

Charlotta had happily dropped out of her nursing classes and starting the next semester she would take only classes that would help towards getting the Egyptology degree. Though she would have to wait to get that until Ben was off to college himself, as the local college didn't offer the degree.

Nearly a month later Ben had quickly become good friends with Presley and it turned out Charlotta already knew his mother from her regular visits to the museum she worked at. Unfortunately aside from Ben occasionally seeing the mummies lurking nearby watching Presley he had been unable to find out anything else about them.

At least until one afternoon Ben raced into the house after school and nearly slid into Charlotta where she was mopping the kitchen floor, "What's wrong?" she asked.

In a rush he replied, "They're protecting him, the mummies are protecting Presley! While we were at the zoo someone opened the door to the jackal cage, they got out and everyone was running, I was at the back staying with Presley and then it all happened so fast. This weird looking guy with a jackal head mask on grabbed Presley and then the mummies were there and Presley yelled at me to run, so I did, but I didn't go far, just hid so I could see what was happening. There was a guy in purple armor and the mummies just had armor appear on them and they started fighting the purple guy and they rescued Presley and scared the purple guy away."

"I wonder why they would protect him, we'll have to ask them when we meet them," Charlotta said.

"But how can we meet them if they only show up for sure if he's in danger?" Ben asked.

"Well we could do something kind of dangerous and illegal," Charlotta replied uncertainly.

"Illegal and dangerous? I'm totally in," Troy said from the doorway.

"Of course, it takes doing something illegal to get you to hang out with us," Ben said.

Ignoring him Troy asked, "So what are we going to do?"

"Kidnap Presley and hope the mummies are around to see and come rescue him so we can meet them. Hopefully they won't kill us first," Charlotta told him.

"I've got a few ski masks we can wear when we kidnap him, you know just in case the mummies aren't around to rescue him and we have to let him go, then he won't know we were the ones to kidnap him," Troy said.

"Why do you have ski masks, I've never seen you wear one?" Charlotta asked.

"A friend gave them to me, I thought I could sneak into the house wearing one and scare you some night," Troy replied, not quite making eye contact.

Making a mental note to search his room to see what else he was hiding and praying she wouldn't find anything he had stolen, she simply said, "It's a good thing you didn't, if you had come into my room like that-"

"I never intended to, I'm not suicidal, I'm not going to walk into the armory to scare anyone. You probably have more reproduction weapons in that single room than the museum has real ones in their entire building. Anyways I gave up on the idea of scaring you when I realized you had spread your collection out to the rest of the house," he said reaching up to a shelf of cookbooks and pulling out a gold handled dagger that had been hidden out of sight on top of them, "I don't even want to know where all you've got these things hidden, but that two foot long old farm knife between the couch cushions is a real pain if you try to lay down on the couch."

"I have to be able to protect you two if anyone were to break into the house. Now back to our evil plot," Charlotta told him.


	2. Chapter 2

By that Friday they had made plans to have Presley and Ben have a sleep over at their place. Only a few blocks away was an old abandoned factory, Ben would dare Presley to go in, if he refused then Ben would go in and pretend to get hurt to lure Presley in. Charlotta and Troy would be waiting in the shadows ready to grab Presley.

Charlotta watched with a little concern at how Troy didn't seem uncomfortable with the situation at all. She on the other hand was shaking like a leaf with nervousness over all the things that could go wrong.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this," she whispered.

"It'll be fine, gloves so we won't leave any finger prints, clothes on everything but our eyes and mouth, so there won't be any DNA if he scratches, there's nothing to worry about. Anyways what about all that learning about ancient Egypt stuff that you haven't shut up about for the last month?" Troy asked.

"But-" before she could finish she heard Ben and Presley talking as they both entered the factory. Heart pounding she followed Troy as he silently stepped out as the boys passed them then grabbed Presley from behind while she put a cloth bag over his head so he couldn't see anything. Ben screamed and ran away yelling for help, making it almost to the door before silently returning.

They worked silently, not wanting Presley to recognize their voices, it didn't take long to get his feet and hands bound.

"You're going to regret this Scarab, the mummies will save me and defeat you like always," Presley said defiantly.

Trying to make his voice sound deeper Troy said, "I don't see any mummies around, maybe they weren't following you today and this is just an act to try to get us to let you go."

Presley was silent for a moment then demanded, "Who are you? What freak did Scarab drag through the western gate this time? Voice is wrong for Anubis, too small to be Geb…" he continued to list off names as he tried to work out who they were.

Charlotta backed away several steps still staring at him as he talked, "What's wrong? You know what he's talking about, don't you?" Troy whispered as he walked over to her.

"I- I think we may have just gotten involved in something a lot bigger than just living mummies. In ancient Egypt there were twelve gates you had to pass through in the afterlife, the western gate was the first of them. The names are all Egyptian Gods, and the occasional details about-"

"He's actually seen these things," Troy finished, "And this Scarab thing is apparently powerful enough to drag God's out of the underworld?" for the first time that day he finally started to look a little nervous, "Maybe we should-"

Before he could finish four mummies ran into the building, looking ready to attack, but stopped, looking almost confused by who had kidnapped Presley.

"Release him and you won't be hurt," the mummy in a blue trimmed kilt told them.

"Won't be hurt?" Presley demanded, "What happened to 'let's kick tut", "power of Ra", why not hurt them?"

"Because we're not really going to have a chance against these guys, if we were interested in fighting," Charlotta said as she removed the bag from Presley's head, "Luckily all I want is to know is why there are living mummies running around protecting some random kid? You are like real ancient Egyptians who have sort of been brought back to life, right?"

"Do we look like South American mummies to you?" the one in green asked indignantly.

"Well you never know with some of the makeup effects they have these days. If you are real there are actually two things I want, first to know what's going on," she tried to stay calm, but she couldn't keep all of the excitement out of her voice as she walked a little closer to get a better look at them, any concern she had felt about what Presley had said quickly forgotten as her curiosity took over, "Second I want to know everything about what life in ancient Egypt was like and can you teach me to speak ancient Egyptian? People can read hieroglyphics, but no one knows what the language sounded like. Ben said you have armor that just appears out of nowhere, is that something that just shrinks down and is stored in something you wear or is it really magic?"

"Of course it's really magic," he replied sharply.

"Always so grumpy, and back in those dirty old bandages I see," she said.

"They're not dirty, I wash them regularly, they're just well worn. I-" he stopped, realization flickering across his face a split second before he grabbed the top of the ski mask and roughly pulled it off of her head, "You! You're the little pest from the hospital."

Before she could reply Presley said, "Can we worry about who's who after I'm untied?"

"Of course," she said walking over to untie him, "I'm really sorry about all this, I just really wanted to meet them and didn't know what else to do."

He looked annoyed for a moment as he stood up then grinned, "Hey guys, you know all that boring stuff you try to teach me? You're going to teach it to her instead," he told them, then before they could say anything he started to tell Charlotta each mummy's name and she in turn introduced herself and her brothers.

Once introductions were done the mummies explained why they were there and what had been happening, although Charlotta felt like they had left a lot out and was left with dozens more questions.

Mind racing with questions she finally settle on one that didn't fit in with the ancient Egyptian beliefs about death she knew of and after what she'd just heard they seemed to have gotten a lot right, "I've never heard reincarnation mentioned in anything I've read about ancient Egypt, was that common?" she asked.

"No, it was almost unheard of," Ja-Kal replied.

"Does that mean Rapses body was damaged or destroyed? That was the main reason for mummification, so the spirit could recognize and return to the body, right?" she asked. At the uncomfortable looks on the mummies faces she guessed she had just brought something up they didn't like to talk about.

That guess was confirmed when Presley said, "Wait a minute, I mean I know he was murdered, but you guys never told me his body was destroyed. It was, wasn't it? That's why his sarcophagus was empty?"

All four mummies were silent for a long moment until Ja-kal sadly said, "Yes, we were too late to save your life and failed to even protect your body."

"Come on guys, don't look so sad, I knew he was murdered, having his body destroyed isn't as bad as being murdered," Presley said.

"Actually in ancient Egypt it was believed that if the soul couldn't recognize it's body then the soul itself could be left to wander or even be completely destroyed. That's why I assumed something had to have happened to Rapses body for his spirit to have ended up in you," Charlotta explained.

"Oh wow, guys is that true?" Presley asked.

"Yes, the little pest seems to know a little," Rath replied.

"Well don't feel bad about what happened to Rapses, his spirit is okay. I know you did everything you could to save him. If his spirit is aware of whats going on, then he knows you did everything you could to save him too and he'd tell you it wasn't your fault. If the few memories I have of his life are right then it was his fault that he got killed, he already didn't trust Scarab, but then he followed him out to the middle of nowhere without telling anyone. It wasn't your fault that he died, it was his fault that all of you died and never got to see your families again. If you blame yourselves for his death then that's just one more way he hurt you and he doesn't want to hurt you," Presley told them, nearly in tears at the end.

"It's alright my prince," Ja-kal said kneeling in front of Presley and hugging him, "We'll try not to blame ourselves for what happened to you, but you also must not blame yourself. Your father trusted Scarab, you cannot be blamed for doing the same. At that time your feelings of distrust towards him were just that, feelings with no evidence to suggest they were accurate."

"Is he okay?" Charlotta quietly asked the other mummies.

"He will be, Rapses' spirit influences Presley's behavior at times when something that was particularly emotional for Rapses comes up," Rath explained.

"We knew he had gained some of Rapses memories, but we didn't know the details or how Rapses ended up alone with Scarab," Nefer-Tina said.

"I'm so sorry I brought it up, I'll save any other questions for when he's not around," Charlotta told them.

"Don't be sorry, I'm glad you brought it up. They shouldn't have to feel guilty for something that wasn't their fault. I hadn't thought about the fact that they wouldn't know why Rapses was with Scarab," Presley said as he and Ja-kal joined the others, "So what do we do now?"

"We can't take her to where we live," Ja-kal said.

"I could look for a memory erasing spell," Rath suggested.

"You will not, I risked going to jail so I could talk to you guys and learn about ancient Egypt. Anyways we've been planning this since the night I saw you at the hospital, if you erase several hours of my memory then I'd still come after Presley again. So unless you can replace the memories you erase with false ones to fill all those weeks, I'd still know something was up and I'd be able figure it out eventually since I have copies of a tape the government guy made while he was examining you," she told him.

"She makes a good point, even if you could find a spell to make her forget this, her desire to know of our world is as relentless as a starving lion that has finally found its prey. She would find us again," Ja-kal said.

"Why don't we go back to my place? I can order the boys pizza and put on a movie to keep them entertained and then we can talk," Charlotta suggested.

"Can we get garlic cheesy bread too?" Armon asked.

"Sure," Charlotta said then asked, "Wait, you can eat?"

"He never stops," Nefer-Tina replied.

"But you're mummies, you know, no internal organs, how can you eat?"

"It's magic," Rath replied simply.

"Do you have to eat or do you just eat because you can?" Charlotta asked.

"Depends on who you ask," Nefer-Tina said, "Armon would tell you we have to eat, the rest of us will feel hungry some times, but it never gets bad or affects us in any other way if we don't eat."

"Okay, no more questions or we're never going to get out of here," Troy said.

– –

Nearly an hour later Presley and Ben were distracted in front of the TV with a movie and pizza, while Charlotta and the mummies sat at the kitchen table to eat and talk.

After writing down the last ingredient on her shopping list of what Armon told her he would need to prepare a traditional Egyptian meal, Charlotta asked, "What about the labyrinth? Well that's what they call it today, it was supposed to have been this huge temple with so many rooms and hallways that a person could get lost in it. At least one person who claimed to have seen it said it was near a pyramid, but no one has ever been able to find it and some believe it never existed, was it real?"

"That sounds like the temple and library of Isis, goddess of magic, healing and protection," Rath replied, "There was a copy of every scroll ever written about healing, history and magic kept there, not something you'd want your enemies getting a hold of. For that reason there was a protection spell on it, if Egypt ever came under foreign rule the temple would disappear below the sands, only an Egyptian wizard could raise it again."

"Do you think all those scrolls would have survived this long?" Charlotta asked an excited edge to her voice.

"They were magically protected, they should be in the same condition as they were the day they were written," he replied, then added, "I am not raising it for you."

"Not even months or years from now once you realize you guys can trust me? I assume you'd have to be there, so it would mean you guys getting to go home to Egypt for a while. You can always rebury it when I'm done looking around," Charlotta told him.

"You can't simply look around, only wizards and sorceresses are allowed inside," Rath told her.

"Well then teach me magic before we go," Charlotta countered.

"It would be too hard, you're too old, training always started in childhood because it was so much harder and sometimes impossible for an adult to learn," Rath told her.

"I managed to graduate from high school while working two jobs and raising my brothers, I'm use to doing things the harder way. If it means someday having access to records of Egyptian history that no one else, not even you guys can tell me, then I'll learn, I don't care how hard it is," Charlotta told him, even as a child she had always taken being told something wasn't possible as a dare to prove she could do it and it certainly wasn't something she had ever outgrown.

One look at the determination on Charlotta's face and Ja-kal said,"I have a feeling you'll save yourself a lot of trouble if you just agree. Better to agree and have her fail than to argue the matter."

"Or I just don't waste my time, say no and she gives up," Rath countered.

"Trust me Rath, when a women gets that look of determination, you're better off just letting her have her way," Ja-Kal told him.

"Fine, it would be nice to have a student who wants to learn. We'll see how long you last, which probably won't be long, not only is it harder for an adult to learn, having no pyramids here will make it harder as well."

"Thank you. What do pyramids have to do with magic though?" Charlotta asked.

"It's unbelievable the things the modern world has forgotten. They magnify and focus Ra's energy into the ground where it's more easily tapped into. The pharaoh's who built the pyramids were permitted to be buried in them as reward for having them built, it would shorten their journey to the afterlife, but that was not their original use," Rath explained.

Charlotta grinned, "That's amazing. You're right though, so much has been lost from your time."

"What about you?" Nefer-Tina asked, "You mentioned you had to start raising your brothers when you were only a child yourself?"

"Yes, at least in this time I was considered a child, it made it a nightmare trying to get custody of my brothers. Our mom died of cancer when I was fourteen. Then when I had just turned seventeen, I found out not only had I been accepted to the college I really wanted to attend, I had also won a scholarship that would cover most of the cost to attend. We were going to celebrate, dad wanted to make a special dinner, I was going to get the food, but I was on the phone talking to my grandparents and telling them the news and it was taking longer than I had planned so dad went to the store instead. It was raining and a person coming towards him was on their phone and drifted into his lane, he swerved to avoid them, but slid off the road and down a hill. He survived a few hours, so we got to say goodbye," Charlotta explained, fighting back tears at the memories, at least until Nefer-Tina reached out to rest her hand over Charlotta's and gave it a gentle squeeze which instantly pulled her from the painful memories. Nefer-Tina's skin was cool, barely warmer than the temperature of the room around them, no doubt due to the lack of blood flow to warm it. Giving Nefer-Tina a grateful glance she continued, "Our grandparent's health wasn't good enough to be raising twelve and seven year old boys. They took them in temporarily until I could get custody of the boys so they wouldn't end up separated and in a foster home or orphanage. Dad was a doctor at the hospital and I had spent a lot of time volunteering there and already knew a lot of the basic stuff, so with all the connections dad had had there it wasn't hard to get a job. Already being established there I started taking nursing courses at the local college and was gradually moving up the ranks at the hospital."

"Ben has mentioned to Presley that you recently stopped working at the hospital, was that because of your run in with Rath there?" Ja-kal asked.

"Yes, but it's a good thing. I guess there's no harm in telling you four," she said then explained everything that had happened after the government men had taken Rath away, then added, "Don't tell anyone, even the boys, I could lose the money and get into a lot of trouble if anyone else finds out."

"You're secret is safe with us," Ja-kal assured her.


End file.
